Hey Clawson Family!

Song:

Scripture:

Matthew 7

Do Not Judge Others

7 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.[b]

3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,[d] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy.[e] Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Effective Prayer

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

The Golden Rule

12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

The Narrow Gate

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[f] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

The Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

True Disciples

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Building on a Solid Foundation

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Devotional:

Did you know that if you are planning to jump out of an airplane by yourself you have to go through a 6 hour training course? During this course you  learn the fundamentals of how to fly so when you do jump out on your own you don’t die. 

 The main things you need to know when exiting the airplane is how to arch your body, and look up at the plane. They teach you how important it is to know how many feet above the earth you are. You wear this thing called an altimeter that  tells you how far you are above earth. You need to know every second that you are falling how many feet you are above the earth because at 5,500 feet it is time to pull your parachute.

Then they teach you how to fly and land your parachute which is probably the longest part of the training. Did you know more people die skydiving from bad landing of a parachute or not knowing how to fix a parachute malfunction than from a parachute not coming out?

Lastly, they teach you how to land. But in order to successfully fly on your own you have to know the fundamentals. 

In the book of Matthew in Jesus begins to call the disciples to follow him. They got in the plane when they decided to leave everything they had (jobs and families) to follow Jesus. They put their faith in acting by trusting Him. But Jesus’s Goal was not just to create followers to watch him, but to recreate himself in the disciples. The goal was to train them to be disciples full of faith. 

Jesus started with teaching the disciples the fundamentals through the sermon on the mount. He challenged everything that they knew and had been raised to believe. He was shifting their mindsets. The old testament was all about you doing the right things to make you right with God, the new testament is all about you having the right heart and mind. In order to be disciples of Christ, we have to allow God to transform our hearts and renew our minds. 

Jesus begins to teach them the fundamentals in Matthew 6-8:The beatitudes, being salt and light, teachings on Anger, Adultery and lust, Divorce, Revenge, loving your enemies, giving to the needy, prayer and fasting, money and possessions, not judging, having an effective prayer life, the golden rule, Jesus being the narrow gate to heaven, people showing their fruits by their actions, and building our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus began by teaching the disciples the fundamentals. If we are going to be His disciples, we need to learn the fundamentals! Step one in learning to fly is learning the fundamentals!

Journal:

When is the last time you asked God to do something great in your life, your heart, your family, your job, your church, or our world? Today in your journal begin to ask God for something GREAT! Ask him to stretch you and push you out of your comfort zone. Write down the things that you need to see a move of God in.

Training:

Dear Lord, 

I desire to seek You each and every day. I don’t want to just go through the motions. I want to see your wonder. I want to experience great things in my life and family. I want to live by Your power. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and live through me today, 

in Jesus’ Name, Amen.